Special report by Bill Heaney

Work to create a major industrial and commercial development in West Dunbartonshire is progressing with detailed approval granted on road infrastructure and development platforms this week, according to a media release from West Dunbartonshire Council.

However, the plan has its critics and if local industry and local government really want it to happen then they will have to fork out much of the funding themselves.

Details of phases One and Two of the £44 million Bowling project, which is part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal,  have been placed before councillors who have still to approve them.

They will eventually be invited to give the green light to work around the development platforms, site layout, roads, access arrangements, parking, waterfront walkway, footpaths, open space and drainage for consideration.

Proposed work will include signalisation of the existing Dunglass roundabout and a new road access into the site from the A814 which will replace the existing site entrance and upgrading of the existing railway overbridge. A new roundabout will also be created beyond the bridge which will give access to the development platforms.

The new road infrastructure would be landscaped and in order to embed active travel and create new crossing points on A82 at Dumbuck and the A814 at Dunglass, as well as the reconfiguration of the cycle path, bus stops and a shared pedestrian and cycle path.

According to the Council, the site, the former ExxonMobil terminal, is currently undergoing remediation before it is transformed into a mixed-use development, with storage, distribution, industrial, business and office space. Three development platforms will be created within the south-eastern part of the site.

The detailed planning approval, which follows planning permission granted in 2021, will mean work can begin to develop the site and surrounding area within the coming months, but some people are of the opinion that what is being planned could be accommodated at the existing Strathleven Industrial Estate in Vale of Leven where Chivas Brothers and Aggreko are flourishing at present.

Of the 150 acre site at Bowling, 47 acres is planned for development, with green network and green infrastructure enhancements including a waterfront pedestrian and cycle path, similar to the long unfinished one from Dumbarton Quay to the Castle,  being proposed for the remainder.

Councillor David McBride, Convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development, who admitted last week that he had failed to look properly at plans for the controversial concrete boulders project in Station Road, said: “This is a hugely ambitious project, which will benefit our area for years to come.

Labour’s David McBride, Lawrence O’Neill and Martin Rooney, the council leader.

“Not only is it expected to bring almost 1000 jobs to the area, with even more during its construction, it will also provide a financial return 26 times greater than our investment, which will be fantastic for West Dunbartonshire and the City Region as a whole.

“What makes this an even more important project is seeing a site which has been lying empty and disused for years coming back into productive use with access to greenspace areas and a much-needed relief road for our area.

“I look forward to seeing work in and around the site progressing in the coming weeks.”

Attracting one thousand jobs would be equivalent to resurrecting Burroughs, Polaroid, Wisemans and other factories which were found to be unsustainable at Strathleven.

Councillor Lawrence O’Neill, Chair of Planning and Vice Convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development said: “It was really pleasing to see such detailed information about the plans for the site being brought forward today.

“These early phases of the development largely address road and infrastructure together with the development platforms, but it is clear that place-making and green infrastructure are embedded into the development of the wider site already.

“This means that alongside practical elements including the relief road, which will alleviate congestion on A82 by providing an alternative route, the development will also create a quality place designed to take account of its waterfront setting and facilitate active travel for pedestrians and cyclists and bring wider economic and social benefits to the local area.”

The Strathleven site was allowed by the Council to fall into a state of dereliction and was insufficiently marketed over many years and the poor employment situation in Dumbarton was only rectified by the former Labour MP John McFall and MSP Jackie Baillie working together at the Strathleven Regeneration Company, which took over the site of the old Strathleven Bond.

It was this company that encouraged Aggreko and Chivas to expand at Kilmalid, which is contiguous with Strathleven.

The Glasgow City Region City Deal is an agreement between the UK Government, the Scottish Government and eight Local Authorities across Glasgow and the Clyde Valley.

The Conservative Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: “It’s great news that the approval has now been granted to begin preparing the site for construction later this year.

“These transformative plans for the ExxonMobil site and its nearby roads will bring jobs and investment, drive economic renewal and deliver green infrastructure that will benefit the community for years to come.

“The UK Government is investing £12 million in the project, as part of our £524 million support in the £1.1bn Glasgow City Region Deal. In total we are investing more than £2.9bn to level up communities across Scotland.”

That £12 million is a pittance in relation to the total cost – and twice the £6 million that impoverished West Dunbartonshire Council was initially going to have to pay to ExonnMobil, one of the richest energy companies in the world, to clean up the Bowling terminal site, which will have to be done before any plan progresses.